Such devotion! If Lu Mingfei were a girl, he’d have agreed, too! So how could he blame her for agreeing?
He turned off the video, stood up, and said, “Boss, settle my bill for the past few days.”
It was evening; rain poured down on the streets outside. He hadn’t seen the sky for days, and walking out felt oddly unfamiliar, as if he didn’t belong here, like a dog walking through the world of humans.
The people on the street were sparse, and because of the gloomy weather, the shop window lights were turned on early. Lu Mingfei walked along the edge of the street with his head down, stopping in front of a wedding photography shop, staring blankly at the beautiful white wedding gown displayed in the window.
His heart ached, but he didn’t have a reason to cry his heart out. Was this what they called “loneliness”? Wasn’t that the privilege of great heroes? How could a nobody like him feel lonely? But when it came, there was no escaping it.
He had been running for years, but this year, this month, on this day, in that dim and noisy basement, it had caught up to him.
The light in the window cast two figures standing side by side.
“You know? I hate rainy days the most,” Lu Mingze said softly, his face blank. “When you get soaked, you feel cold. I hate the cold.”
“Then why don’t you carry an umbrella? You can do anything, right? You should use an umbrella,” Lu Mingfei said.
“How could that be? In our line of work, how could we be more comfortable than our clients?” Lu Mingze looked up at Lu Mingfei and smiled. “Brother, remember? I told you, in this world, only you and I share the same heart. Though I do want your life, I will always be with you. If you’re in the rain, I won’t carry an umbrella.”
Lu Mingfei stopped, turned to look at the little devil’s beautiful, childlike face. He knew full well that this little guy was a deceitful liar with hidden motives, just spouting nonsense, yet seeing that earnest, honest face, his little face soaked in rain… somehow, his nose stung with a touch of sadness.
“Get lost…” Lu Mingfei said quietly. “Go find a dry place to entertain yourself; I’m fine.”
“Not for long, you won’t be. And it’s going to be the biggest thing yet. You better get your spirits up, or you’ll die. If you die before we fulfill our contract, I’ll be heartbroken.” Lu Mingze still smiled. “This time’s cheat code is ‘something for nothing.’ It’s a one-of-a-kind super cheat code—powerful enough to shake the heavens, even against the Four Great Kings. Guaranteed to work, or you get your refund! And the fee is only a mere quarter of a life.”
“Something for nothing,” Lu Mingfei remembered the cheat code. In StarCraft, this cheat code could instantly upgrade everything to its maximum level, making all units the strongest.
“Something… for nothing!” He looked up at the rain pouring from the sky. “What does that mean…?”
“It means using something precious in exchange for emptiness,” Lu Mingze said, standing next to him, watching the rain. “At least, that’s what it literally means, right?”
“Forget it, none of this has anything to do with me.” Lu Mingfei lazily waved his hand, walking along the wall.
“Feeling sad, are you? Because of Chen Wenwen?” The little devil shamelessly followed him. “You think you’ve done everything you can for her, right? Even suppressing the devil in your heart—oh, that’s me. Though once, in front of you, she was like a tissue stained with ketchup, a heart-shaped red stain that looked like blood. But her heart wasn’t bleeding for you. You have nothing to do with her, brother. You have no shared time, no ‘love’ or anything like that. She drew a smiley face on the glass for you, and you felt warm inside. But when Zhao Menghua called her, the fortress she built in her heart completely crumbled! Suddenly she cried her heart out, saying, ‘Why did you only call me now?’” The little devil patted his shoulder, laughing. “Hahaha, brother, back then, you were grumbling while scratching your feet with that loser Finger.”
Lu Mingfei felt a bit dizzy, his breathing heavy, but he didn’t want to say anything, just kept walking with his head down.
“Feeling wronged, right? You sacrificed a quarter of your life to save that girl, Nono, but nobody knows—not even you admit it. When she woke up, she saw Caesar Gattuso’s face. How unlucky can you get? Want to sell me another quarter of your life so I can kill Caesar for you? I’m pretty good at handling matters like crimes of passion.”
“Shut up!” Lu Mingfei suddenly turned his head and yelled in anger.
“You can’t run away, brother. You’re already caught.” Lu Mingze looked at him, his clear eyes full of pity. “Look ahead, someone needs your help. Will you help her?”
Lu Mingfei suddenly heard a girl’s scream. He snapped his head around, seeing four thuggish young men surrounding a girl in a white dress, pushing her into an alley. The leader was toying with a folding knife, and a half-faded tattoo on his shoulder stood out starkly.
Damn it! He should have escorted Chen Wenwen to the subway!
“Stop!” He shouted impulsively, without thinking.
The thugs were startled, turning to look at the kid who had come running over. They exchanged glances, confirming that Lu Mingfei was alone without any backup, and their expressions softened immediately. The leader fiddled with the knife, signaling one of his cronies to keep the girl under control, then led the other two to block Lu Mingfei’s path.
“What’s up, bro? You got something to say?” The leader eyed Lu Mingfei up and down.
Lu Mingfei looked through the gaps in their bodies to see Chen Wenwen, whose arms were twisted behind her back. Her long, soaked hair hung down, covering her face, and she was sobbing.
Crying? What good would crying do? If crying worked, Lu Mingfei would be crying, too.
“She’s my classmate! Let her go, or I’ll call the police!” Lu Mingfei tried to suppress his trembling.
“Oh, a classmate? Got a student ID on you to prove it?” One of the thugs pushed Lu Mingfei’s shoulder.
“Don’t bully the kid, he looks like a student, doesn’t he?” The leader pushed him as well.